Show Reviews

Who the hell is already rating this show 3 out of 5 within the first 15 minutes of voting being available? Jaded vets? TAB critics?

We just got the 2nd Phish Mr. Completely EVER and a Caspian that flipped to building upside down out of nowhere.

There was ridiculous firepower tonight in the burg and the song exploration has just begun. No repeats all summer, this appears to be the consensus.

S1 didn't have a set flow, but it didn't need it. They were enjoying just playing tunes and making up on the fly. Having fun pays off for the quality of the performing. Caspian proved its worth again (Magna, Dicks12...) this song is no joke and deserves versions like these.

Mr.Completely gives this show its history making moment in time and will still be in the argument for jam of the year even after BD. I won't say it will win, but it will be strongly strongly discussed and analyzed. And hey, it COULD win if given the credit it deserves.

Mercury as well was a very welcome surprise after Mr. Completely along with a Q4 Steam > #Line that was nothing short of exceptional.

They were just vibing. If last night Dayton was more about song selection and placement, tonight was more about let's just whale everybody's faces off because we're all really REALLY excited about BD. Esp, the band.

Til Friday, pholks. Phish will be waiting with guns a blazin... Indeed :-)

Whoever it is that is giving every show a low star count and downvoting other reviews, please stop. We are experiencing something special this summer, so it's not fun to go to a show, scroll down to the ratings/reviews and see that every time.

That being said, the show in retrospect was a little all over the place. But knowing what's been happening every show this summer, the bar is set pretty damn high for what to expect. Prince Caspian gives us our first big noteworthy moment in the first set this tour to send us to setbreak.

The Punch opener kept things going, and then we get to Mr. Completely. Initially wondering about the song choice, the band churns out the 4th 20+ minute jam of the summer on a song played by Phish for the 2nd time ever. Like, what??? I'm sure someone else will review the jam itself later, but this is a moment that just shows what Phish 2017 is all about. Last night in Dayton gave us a unique Wombat among other things, and tonight Mr. Completely makes its case for jam of the year out of nowhere.

The rest of the show had me (and I'm sure everyone else too) just waiting for another 7th/8th/9th slot batter to step up to the plate and hit a grand slam, but it wasn't to be. There's a clean segue from Mercury into Come Together, Steam comes in late but fizzles out, and Number Line has a great Trey solo to close out the second set.

It's saying something that 5 shows into the summer tour, this one is lowest on the totem pole in listening priority outside of Prince Caspian and Mr. Completely. Phish continues to deliver a massive 3rd quarter jam and sprinkles some exploration elsewhere too. We'll see what the boys have in store for us come Friday.

Awesome show but i won't review only because i am extremely biased since it was my 12 year old son's first show! I just wanted to drop a note into posterity to thank everyone that helped me usher Javin into our wonderful community....you guys know who you are! A million times, thank you!

I will note that this show gave me a number of firsts personally, these guys seem to play what i think to myself pre-show would be great to hear (i'm sure a lot of us feel that way in retrospect), i.e., My Soul, Halley's, PYITE, Mercury(!!!), Contact & Rocky Top! And that Mr. Completely was a wonderful, totally unexpected, treat!

I personally heard this as another strong 2017 show that started with an eclectic first set, though this first had more highlights than any of tour so far. Undermind sucked me in, Divided Sky lifted me up, and then Caspian chewed me up and spat me out in the best way possible. I love this tune but I was really wanting SOAM to end the set and then of course, in classic Phish fashion, they showed me both that my expectations don't matter and that they can blow my mind at any time.

Starting any set with PYITE is a great way to rouse the crowd and being that it has not once been taken for a walk (as far as .net reports), one may intuit that, because this started the second set, the boys are preparing to either weave a concise, coherent, and complementary set or just drop a monster jam. Tonight we get both. Only Phish's 2nd take of Mr. Completely yields a stellar jam that sounds (to my ears) like a functional, progressive conglomeration of the sounds from some of the most notable jams in the past 2 years. But then again, as some other .netter once quoted Elvis Costello in a review, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture", but I digress.

This second set has some serious flow but not allll the way from start to finish IMO. While I wish the Mercury jam wouldn't have cut off when it did, after the first set goodies and the Mr. Completely, I was plenty fine with another TAB song as a breather. I could have seen a Dirt instead of Contact to really get into the feels before hitting the Axilla > Steam > BDTNL closing train, but if their playing Contact mid-late second set is my main gripe, I enjoyed the shit out of the show. Loved to hear Steam and then BDTNL brought some high energy happy raging to close out a set that leaves us drooling for the BD. Encore was standard 2017 fare.

Well my good people, we are 5 shows into tour and we already have four 20+ minute jams to digest. These shows may be considered a warm up but seems like the boys are already playing loose, tight, and ready to get reeeaaalll comfortable at MSG.

This was a really special concert, that's about all I can say right now. So many things in so many ways that I have never even heard before. This second set is absolutely hands down one of the best I've EVER heard. The Caspian was unexpected and incredible. I've seen like 3 or 4 different versions of Mercury now and they've all been great. Show was a freakin blast

What a great show! NICU and Axilla seemed kind of downtempo in comparison to their usual tempi, but that doesn't detract from the one-two punch to close Set I: Home > Prince Caspian, where Caspian manages to get dark, but still peak excitingly. I like the new Mike song, Marissa, but it has a similar reggae-fied lilt to Yarmouth Road and (to a lesser extent, but still following a firmly Little Feat-influenced pattern) 555. Punch You in the Eye opening the second set is an harbinger of greatness, I think, and the Mr. Completely to follow (the fourth 20-min+ jam of tour so far!) proves that admirably. Its jam starts out in a kind of blissy holding paradigm, but shifts towards a funkier headspace (reminiscent to me of Fall '97 in moments) and peaks with an intensity that bears comparison to some of the bigger Bathtub Gins. Mercury is always welcome, and this time it jams into the new Trey tune Come Together. The remainder of the show is full of shorter, Type-I tunes (well, Backwards Down the Number Line is about medium long, LOL), and as I said, Axilla doesn't really churn the way it usually does, but hey, the encore is fun (nice to see Bug) and why not take a victory lap after the hour or so comprising Home > Caspian // PYITE > Mr. Completely > Mercury -> Come Together? My star-rating for this show is influenced by the Phish debuts as well as the jams.

The buildup to this Wednesday night began way back in the spring. Once this small jaunt before the Baker's Dozen was announced, it was decided that a large group of us from all over the country was going to get together and celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first show just days before the actual anniversary (7/22/97) in a city hungry for some Phishing. As well, Phish hadn't played in the city limits of Pittsburgh since 1996, and this is basically a hometown show for me, as I live just 2 1/2 hrs away and see all kinds of shows and games in the 'burgh. Arrangements were made, and entries in the PTBM lotto were made. The force was with us as we were all successful in the lotto. Each set of us would be scattered inside the building, but the Pete is small enough that we all ended up seeing and waving at one another once at our seats!
Day of the show rolls around and our phamily has gathered at a buddy's house outside Pittsburgh and we head out in two cars to the show. We really wasn't expecting much of a shakedown, being in the heart of the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, but to our great surprise there was a small but thriving shakedown kicking right outside our parking garage. After meeting up with everyone and exchanging hugs and greetings with friends from near and far, it was time to head into the Pete.
The security and ticket scan went smoothly, and soon we were saying our parting words before heading to our respective seats. After locating one another with a wave of a hand or hat, we settled in for a night of hoped-for magic. Soon enough the houselights dimmed and out they came.

Set I
My Soul - tight version, good shake-loose opening number to dust off the dancing bones.
NICU - Greeted with a cheer. Feel good tune, lots of singing along.
Halley's > Well play Halley's, and the band appears to be getting warmed up a little bit.
Undermind - aahhhh yeah, that's more like it. A nice little jam here that portends things to come.
Divided Sky - Such a needed song, for me personally, and boy do they nail it. Trey is on fire, and is hitting all the key notes of the composed sections and just a bright feel to the whole song. They are really playing well - together - this tour. Sounds like their chops are up too!
Marissa - neat little tune from Mike. Good feel to it.
Home - The jam out of this one was tasty. I even labelled it on the setlist on the back of my ticket stub as "Pittsburgh Jam" after Home, as they just hit a whole other gear!
Prince Caspian - What can I say? Jam of the night? Mr. C may have something to say about it in set II, but I think it goes right here. So many interesting places and themes are hit on in these 16 short minutes. Is it better than Magna-Caspian? You be the judge of that, but my money lays here. Great way to end the set! Once the house lights came on, many of us stood there - in stunned silence - needing a moment to collect our thoughts on what just transpired.

Set II
PYITE - great way to open the set, got all of us up and dancing right away. Led into...
Mr. Completely - first time played in 14 years, and only second time ever, and boy do they hit it hard! Another hard to beat jam weaves through the very fiber of this one, and there is no way to put into words the places we go together during this jam.
Mercury - Always glad to hear this one. It doesn't disappoint and although it isn't long, it's meaty in the jam department, leading into the first Phish version of...
Come Together - Well played and fit nicely into this slot in the set.
Contact - a good cool-down number and one not too commonly played.
Steam - Revving the engine up again, a good Steam leads into
BDTNL - I love this song, and I don't care! The jam leading out of Number Line really gets everyone rocking again. The version is fire!
Encore:
Things People Do - this little ditty from Page is quite catchy.
Bug - powerful meaning for me, and well played for the most part. Just when we thought we were blessed with a double encore, they play a quick...
Rocky Top - great way to end this show!

The aftershow included the mindless wandering up out of the bowels of the arena and up the multitudinous steps leading back up to the parking garage. The whole way just trying to digest what just happened. Was it the greatest show in history? Nope. Best of tour? Who knows? But to me it's just amazing to think that we still have these four guys up on stage still out there making fresh, quality, ground-breaking music. The Caspian for the ages alone makes this one to listen to. I'm glad we were here, and can't wait until the next one...

Wow, nothing to add for review notes. The rest have done a good job with that, but one comment and one question:

-Love Trey's tone thus far. Back where it should be!
-From the above note....is it even conceivable that they could go Summer (18 shows) without a repeat? My god that would be killer, and statistically frightening for a band. Phish, Dead, or otherwise, I can't think of any tune/song based band doing that!?!?

I cant believe this show only has a 4 rating, Wow! This was my first show since Star Lake 98, marriage and life took over. First off when they added the Dayton and Pittsburgh shows, that was mind blowing. Petersen Events center is such a small arena. The chance to see Phish after so many years off and to see them in a small arena. I wasn't disappointed. I had nose bleed seats, the last row in the house but I didn't care because I wanted to see the light show which could cause an epileptic seizure. Incredible from way up high, got to take it all in. The noise level, It took a day for my hearing to come back, don't know if thats from all the concerts I went to or if they are always that loud or if it was the venue but I heard it loud and clear. A lot of my favorites were played. I was glad that I got to see this show, I listen to it all the time. The phans were great, scene was great, music was great, lights were great.

Serendipity is the word of the day for me on this show.
This for me was my 3rd favorite show that i have been to. I was at 2-22-03 amazing Bathtub and Tube not to mention a decent Friday (yes i said it a decent but 2nd to 12-28 the only good Friday jam guitar solo EVER- the one in Texas was absolutely the worst 2nd worst only to the one in my least favorite show that I attended of all time 11-29 03 the 20 yr reunion 4 show ones which were all terrible btw except the Hary Hood opener and the 1st show was ok w the Whats the Use and Crimes of the Mind was kickass. Anyways back to my 2nd favorite show to top this one of the attended was my show in Reading at the Skating Hockey Arena for chompers galore. . .that Reba encore the Walk Away and the amazing 20 years later made that night abolutely amazing for me. . .but I had fun at all the shows yes even 11-29-03 .
I had fun at my first show 2-21-2003 I love Wading as an encore and the one at US Bank in Cinci was so cool . Trey held the C cord note out for like a minute no joke a full minute and a half on one note then they played my favorite version ever after the best show of 2003 in Uniondale NY the show in Greensboro NC they played it mid second set and that version is a must listen to it is the best ever in my opinion. And my tie for third best show along w this one was my 2 nighter in Camden where they played my 3rd tie for number 3 best attended shows Camden Trey must like to play there cause they played a great show in 6-7-09 a Lizards a bad one but it is my favorite song ever so ill take a bad version of it Mike was not on bass point on that one and treys guitar solo ender was sloppy at best. But the setlist was amazing the Antelpe the Tweezer even the Joy was fun to hear and i can never like a Sugar Shack but Treys guitar picking was on point the first time they ever played it . . I had fun that night in part cause 2 really hot girls were dancing and i was sandwiched between them and they were so sweaty from acid that they let me like feel them up basically it was so wierd and fun. . .i got away w some groping and i admit it was wrong in hindsite but lots of fun at the time. The other camden show was so kickass and yet the night of i was high on weed and a bit drunk so i did not even enjoy the show. . .i was too tired. And at the time i did not know half the setlist it being my 3rd live show. I did not know Spocks Brain i did not know the cool reference to IT w the Bob Dylan Counting Crows joint and i did not know You Aint Going Nowhere right on but i did not know the 30 minute song of the night SaSS either and i must admit what i love about it now i was bored to tears hearing live cause i just couldnt get into the dark heroin jams trey was doing at hte time cause he was so fucked up on Coke and Dope to play happy DWD jams. Oh that reminds me give a liste n to the fun DWD my personal favorite Disease ever live cause it was my first show i think i am biased but u tell me the one from 2-21 in OH . . .so yeah the Twist and the YEM stole the night for me. LISTEN TO THE YEM from 7-30-03 it is so so so badass! Page steals the show on that one even over mikes bass guitar even over the stupid antics on the bouncy little trampoline.
My 4th favorite show was 11-24 2009 I did not have fun at 11-25 at ALL but Trey played my 3rd favorite tune behind Lizards and MFMF which is Esther i had a gf named Esther in college. But she was not brainwashed by a voodoo doll and told to drown herself after meeting a cult of fake Christians in a mean Reformed church lmao
11-25 was 2nd worst only to 11-29 for me
I had a lot of fun at my 5th and 6th favorite but i was high on OCs and molly so i dont remember most of it. Girl in the lot gave me what i thought was coke but turned out to be Molly and another guy gave me free mushrooms which hit the spot but i only did 2 caps so i only sorta hallucinated a bit under the light show. They were the 2 shows at Merriweather 2010 and then the following year 2001 i only did the 2nd night not the Daniel Saw a Stone but the one they did Sanity encore but i dont remember any of it lmao. So i cant review it it may have been a great show but i will never know if it was LIVE. 2010 I must take back actually it may have been my 3rd favorite tied too or even my 2nd favorite cause the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Jumping Jack Flash an I Saw it Again monster theme and then a Hendrix Fire wow that was quite the night even a Walfredo opener for us Blue Crab lovers that lived in MD at the time. I lived in MD for 27 years so i will miss it fondly and have much nestalgia for Merriweather Post especially after a Walfredo to top it off then my favorite marley tune even above Trenchtown Rock w a great GREAT mellow mood up there w the IT one. I missed the even better 4.7 rated on Phish.net show from 2014 the amazing one where they did Jennifer Dances and ran around in circles on stage during the encore. . .i wasnt even there and got a contact high off that ENERGY. . .btw they can never play Energy again as far as i am concerned lmao
Sorry i missed that one i regret it big time cause i had tickets to it and work messed me up.
My 3rd worst show i attended was so terrible but not as bad as 11-29 it was 7-15-2009 at Merriweather. . the only highlight was the debut of Party Time. . .I hope to hear GONE from that album some day live but they only played it 2009 and 2010 ONCE so i doubt i ever will just like i thought i would never hear MR COMPLETELY again and that brings me FULL CIRCLE to my serendipity point that i just had to make and give a review for this show because of . . .
My best friend from College at Cedarville University was a townie that was already out of college but worked at the cafeteria named Damon Titus but we all called him Wonkey cause he is so cool and wierd and at the time had hair like u used to the long str8 hippy thing going and like u he loves all things Dead and Frank Zappa. . .
So his favorite and first show was the one played on Bittersweet Motel which btw i swore i was gonna hear tonight in Pittsburgh cause of the lyrics but no such luck as an encore instead we get a FUCK BUG which i too do not like but for different reasons than u. . .i hate any lyrics anti-Christian so i hate Bug I hate Friends (J Fishman tune off Big Boat) I hate Lifeboy and i hate all the apathy tunes like who cares tunes like It Makes No Difference (but i love the music to that one ) and I hate Friday and i hatre Whats the Use cause i do for one care and i think there is a reason for existence it is to serve and bow to Jesus so there is a use and there is a what behind it . . .but i am not here to soapbox Christianity i am here to talk music
So his favorite was Albany 1997 the Roses are Free that nobody knew and all looked at each other like wtf is this tune. . .etc
Amazing night
So he goes to what he thought would be his last show before turning into an Accountant GEEZER and never going again to see Phish and sticking to John Mayer w the Dead and Bob Dylan and a few other live acts but thought he was done seeing Phish cause he has 2 daughters now and does not want them becoming flower children prostitutes and i cannot say i blame him. . the lot scene would terrify me if i had kids and would not lete my daughter within ten miles of men like me and u FZappa and the even worse. . the str8 pedophiles and just alcoholic creeps etc. . .
So it took him some convincing and me swearing we would do this show fully sober. . .energized by great music alone and by great food at our Hilton Homewood suites downtown on the other side of the river and just be on PROTEIN and Red Bulls. . .I was the guy in Green Nike top and Blue Nike shorts and jeans over that before the first set and then just the shorts so i can sweat out the contact high from the ghosted acid or just weed most phish shows and just a bit of cocaine and weed around us this time. . .credit cards and lines but i can take a bit of insanity as long as they dont try to offer me shit. . I am not a customer i know what is up and i do not smell like money i smell like fuck off hippys. . .I am saved get the fuck away lmao
So really really long story short
Damon and i went to 2-22-03 the best Tube ever and one of the best Encores ever Suzy (yes a total chomper thing to say i admit) and a Sloth and Dog Stole Things and a Scent of a Mule i mean come on . . oh shit i forgot scent of a mule in my all animal dream set list on Phish.net in my review of Sprinkles night Esther Col Forbins Harpua wow what a night and i was thinking only the S setlist and a dream list of animals could maybe top that and 2-28-03 and Magnaball.
So we get a Mr Completely JAM just a tease of it during Bathtub Gin right and then they play it later that summer for the first time at 7-15-03 an amazing show minus the Spread it Round lol and now it has come full circle and i know this sounds crazy before i say it cause why would Trey care or even know about me and Damon but I call it a God thing . . nothing else makes sense to me. . now they went and fucked up my theory by playing it in MSG for the Donut shows and that puts a big hole in my theory and gives it loopholes now but had they just played it in Cinci and after the hotel fire not played it again until Pittsburgh i swore it meant something from Jesus and i am sober i am saying this sober. . .i am not on acid saying this. . .this seems like signs and wonders i am telling u. . .anyone care to comment on this as to am i crazy to see this as reading the signs like the whole football thing in Silver Linings Playbook. . it was just so cool to mention this to Damon and he didnt think i was nuts. . I even made a joke cause he is my best friend and i havent even seen or talked to him in 14 years and it was like we never separated i never went back to MD to see my dying dad who has since passed of stage 4 cancer. . .and i said to him i made this corny joke about Jerry Maguire and albeit i hate tom cruise and Sceintology he stole my Katie Holmes obsession right out of me and my silly addiction to Dawsons Creek 20 years later. I said Damon shut shut just shut up u had me at HELLO . . .u complete me Damon. . lol Mr Completely
The end

Loved the show! Just wanted to point out that it probably wasn't coincidence they played "Mercury." Per Wikipedia: "In other languages, such as the French mercredi or Italian mercoledì, the day's name is a calque of dies Mercurii "day of Mercury"."

Considering the previous show's opening number, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. There's so much deep, rich meaning in the lyrics that I'm sure they were aware.

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